Packing containers



Jan- 1 1959 J. w. WOODCOCK 2,868,407

PACKING CONTAINERS Filed Jan. 4; 1957 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Jan. 13, 1959 J. w. wooncoclg PACKING CONTAINERS 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 Fig.7

liver/2E0]? flfloodcocji Filed Jan. 4, 1957 Jan. 13, 1959 J. w. WOODCOCK PACKING CONTAINERS 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Jan. 4, 1957 Fig.11

Z1211 amp JHISZ'oodCoti/i PACKING CONTAINERS Application January 4,1957, Serial No. 632,546

Claimsrpriority, application Great Britain January, 12,, 1956 3 Claims. (Cl. 220-7) This invention relates to packing containers, such as road/rail containers, packing cases, crates and the like, and has for its object to provide a packingcontainer in a convenient form in which it can be collapsed within thearea of one of its sides when empty.

A container inaccordance with the invention comprises four rectangular sides which are hingedly interconnected at adjacent edges, each of one pair of opposite sides being divided; longitudinally into two hingedly interconnected parts which can, be folded inwardly into contact with one another and with the adjacent and other sides, a pair of ends mounted on one of said other pair of sides and each formed as a rigid portion fixedly connected to widow of said other pair of sides and a hinged portion hingedly interconnected with the rigid portion, and meansfor locking the container in an erected position.

An example of the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which:

Figures 1, 2 and 3 are diagrammatic perspective views showing the container in the erected, the partially collapsed, and the collapsed positions respectively,

Figure 4 is a sectional side view of the container,

Figure 5 is a sectional plan of Figure 4,

Figure 6 is a fragmentary end view as. seen from the right hand end of Figure 4,

Figure 7 is a side view of Figure 6,

Figure 8 is a section to an enlarged scale on the line 8-8 of Figure 6,

Figure 9 is a section to an enlarged scale on the line 9'--9 of Figure 6,

Figures 10 and 11 are respectively an end View and a sectional side view showing the door fastening mech anism.

In the illustrated example of the invention the container is of the kind which is adapted to be transported upon a flat goods platform of a road and/ or rail, vehicle, and which forms the equivalent of a closed body for the vehicle upon which it is being transported.

The side 16 constituting the base of the container is of rectangular form and has hingedly connected to its longitudinal side edges a pair of opposite and rectangular sides 11 forming side walls. Each 0'? these side walls is equally divided longitudinally into an upper part it and a lower part Ell which are hingedly interconnected, so as to becapable of being folded inwardly into contact with one another as shown by Figures 2 and 3. Also the upper edge of the upper part Ell of each side, wall is hingedly connected to the one longitudinal edge of a rectangular side 12 forming the top which is of substantially the same area and shape as the base.

At each end of the base til is an end wall 13 formed in two portions. The lower and smaller portion 13 is rigidly secured to the base in a perpendicular position, whilst the upper portion 13 is hingedly connected to the upper edge of the lower portion 13 so as to be capable of folding inwardly as shown in Figure 3. Also the hinge connection is such that the upper portion 13 can move outwardly from the perpendicular through a very small angle asshown in Figure. 2 and in dotted lines in Figure 8.

The arrangement is such that the lower parts 11* of the two side walls can be folded inwardly. into contact with the base lti'whilst the upper parts 1 1 fold. outwardlyrelative to their lower hinge lines until, the outer sides of each two parts are in contact. In this position the top 12 is super-imposed upon the side wallsli with its underside in contact with the inner side of the upper part 11 of each side wall. Subsequentlyythe upper portions 13 of the two end walls 13 may be folded in 'wardly into contact with the top 12 to achieve the position seen in Figure 3.

In order to render the container Weather proof there is associated with each hinge connection a rubber or other deformable seating strip whichrnay be of. tabular form. These strips are so disposed that, when the container is erected they are pressed against the part to which the part on which they are mounted is hingedly connected. Rubber or like sealing strips 14 are also provided between side flanges of the end walls 13 and the side walls 11 and between top flanges of the end walls 13 and the ends of the top 12.

A door or doors 15 is/are provided in the upper portion 13* of'one of the end walls. Also slinging eyes 16 are provided on the top 12 to assistin the erecting and lifting of the container by means of a crane. Furthermore, means now to be describedis provided for. locking the parts together to hold the container in the erected position shown in Figure 1.

On the exterior 'of the upper part 11* of each side wall 11 is an angularly movable handle 1'7 connected to a segment 1% in which is formed a helically extending cam track 1%, this segment being located at the inside of the wall 11. On the segment 13 is an arm It) which is connected by a link 20 to the similar arm or arms 19 of one or more further segments 18 situated at longitudinally spaced intervals. Moreover, on the interior of the lower part it of each side wall are an, equal number of brackets 21 having parts for co-oper'ation with the carn'tracks 13' the arrangement being such that after raising the top 12 of the container to th erected position the plurality of brackets 21 can be engaged in the cam tracks 13 by angular movement of the handles 17, so as to clamp the two parts li and li of each side in. the same plane and thereby maintain the sides erected.

' Adjacent the upper end of each of the parts 13 are a pair of spaced brackets 22 having hook-shaped noses at their inner ends, whilst mounted at opposite ends of the undersides of the top 12 are a pair of transverse shafts 23. On each of these shafts 23 are a pair of radial arms 24 on each of which is pivotally mounted a spring loaded catch piece 25 adapted to engage with the hook-shaped nose of one of the brackets: 22 as the top 12 is raised to the erected position. A manually operable handle 26 is provided on the shaft 23) adjacentthe door or doors i5, and this shaft has a further radial arm which is connected to one end of a link 27 connected' at its opposite end to one arm of a two-armed lever 28 pivoted on the top 12. Theother arm of the lever 28 is connected by means of a link 2? to another radial arm on the other shaft 23, the arrangement being such that movement of the handle 26 will impart equal and opposite angular movements to the two shafts 23.

On the: shaft 23 nearer the door or doors is a further arm which is connected through a link 30 to aradial arm 31 on an intermediate transverse shaft 32. At each end of this shaft 32 is another radial arm 33 which is pivotall'y connected to the upper end of a vertically slidable bolt 34, which is adapted to form an abutment for the lever 19 at the same side and thereby prevent movement of the associated lever 17 to the released position until the lever 26 has been moved to permit the catch pieces to move outwardly. Each bolt 34 is formed as two parts interconnected by the hinge to admit of the collapsing of the container.

In use when it is required to erect the container from the position seen in Figure 3, then by means of a crane the top 12 is raised until the twoparts of each side 11 lie substantially in the same plane and the catch pieces 25 engage with the hook-shaped noses of the brackets 22. The handles 17 at both sides are then actuated from outside the container to maintain the sides 11 in the erected position. The door or doors 15 may then be opened and the handle 26 actuated to move the catch pieces 25 inwardly and thereby pull the end portions 13: into firm engagement with the top and sides. The handle 26 is desirably placed so that when in the inoperative position it extends downwardly and partially obstructs entry to the container thus rendering it almost impossible for an individual to forget to move it to the clamping position before entering the container. When the handle 26 has been moved to the clamping position the bolts 34 are at the downward limit of their travel and obstruct movement of the arms 12 in a releasing direction.

In order accurately to locate the parts in the erected position at each end of each upper side part 11 is a spigot 36 (Figure 9) which is adapted to engage a complementary recessed piece 37 on the adjacent end portion 13 in the erected position. Also adjacent the upper ends of the side edges of the end portions 13 are similarly inwardly directed spigots 38 (Figure 7) which are adapted to engage complementary recessed pieces on the outside of the side parts 11 Furthermore, at the ends of the top 12 are spigots 39 which are adapted to engage recessed pieces 40 located within the upper ends of channels 41 secured to the ends 13.

To ensure that the door or doors 15 cannot be latched until the parts are accurately locked in the erected position there is provided on the one end of the top 12 -a depending bracket 42 having a hinged extension 43.

This extension 43 can move angularly in a clockwise direction from the position seen in Figure 10, but is prevented from anti-clockwise movement beyond the posion seen in this figure. Moreover, on the door 15 is a catch piece 44 which is angularly movable by a handle. 45 to admit of it being engaged behind an abutment 46 on the portion 13 The catch piece 44 carries a cranked extension 47; and the arrangement is such that when the portion 13 is not firmly clamped against the sides 11 and top 12 to locate the spigots 36, 3'3 and 39 in their respective recessed pieces, the extension 43 lies in the path of movement of the extension 47 to prevent the catch piece being moved to the latched position. However, due to the extension 43 being hinged as before mentioned, the catch piece can be moved from the latched position before the parts are accurately located to admit of the door being opened to actuate the handle 26.

The door or doors 15 also carry brackets 48 which when the doors are open project under the top 12 as seen in broken lines in Figure 7 to prevent the container from collapsing with the doors open, thereby minimizing'the risk of the container collapsing upon an operator. e

To collapse the container the handle 26 is first moved in a direction to move the catch pieces 25 and the end portions 13 outwardly, at the same time raising the bolts 34 out'of the path of movement of the arm 19. The handle 17 can now be actuated to free the brackets 21 from the cam tracks 18 so that the container can be .collapsed as soon as the doors are closed to remove the .brackets 48 from under the top 12. Due to the fact that when the end portions 13 are moved outwardly to their fullest extent the spigots 39 are still located within the channels 41, the spigots interact with the channels in guiding the top and side parts during the collapsing movement and thereby prevent relative lateral movement.

In order to prevent the side walls and top collapsing with too great a force there may be associated with the hinge connections between the two parts of each side wall, means for counter-balancing partially the weight of the side walls and top. Conveniently this means may comprise springs or torsion bars or tubes which are stressed when the container is collapsed.

The container may be made of wood, plastic or metal but is preferably made mainly of aluminium alloy for lightness and strength. Moreover, the usual rings (not shown) are provided on the container whereby it may be secured to a vehicle upon which it is placed. Although in the case of road/rail containers of the kind described it will usually be convenient for the container to collapse upon the base, in some instances, where the invention is applied to other containers such as packing cases or crates, it may be desirable for the container to collapse laterally. In this case the top and base sides may each be formed as two hingedly interconnected parts, and the end walls may be connected to one of the side walls. However, in all instances the container is capable of being collapsed within the area of one of its sides, so as to form a compact unit for transit when empty.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A collapsible packing container comprising in combination a rectangular base, a pair of rectangular 'side parts hingedly connected at their lower edges to opposite sides of the base so as to be foldable inwardly on to the base, a pair of rectangular upper side parts hingedly connected at their lower edges to the upper edges of the lower side parts respectively so as to be foldable outwardly relative to the latter, a rectangular top hin edly connected at opposite sides to the upper edges of the-upper side parts, a pair of rectangular lower end portions rigidly connected to opposite ends of the base, a pair of rectangular upper end portions hingedly mounted on the upper edges of the lower end portions respectively so as to be foldable inwardly on to the top, locking mechanism mounted in the interior of the container for releasably retaining the upper and lower side parts on each side of the container in substantially the same plane when the container is in its erected condition, manually operable actuating means connected to the locking mechanism and mounted on the exterior of the container, manually operable clamping mechanism for drawing and releasably securing the upper end portions against the top and upper side parts, and means connected to the clamping mechanism for preventing release of the locking mechanism until the clamping mechanism has been released.

2. A collapsible packing container according to claim 1, in which one of the upper end portions incorporates a door having mounted on its upper part a bracket which, when the door is open, extends under the adjacent part of the container top to prevent downward movement thereof, and which is movable by closing movement of the door into an out-of-service position clear of the container top.

3. A collapsible packing container according to claim 2 and having in combination latching means for releasably retaining the door in its closed position, and means carried by the container top for obstructing doorreleasing movement of the latching means until the upper end portions are clamped against the top and upper side portions.

(References on following page) 5 6 References Cited in the file of thispatent 1,594,140 Yerk et a1. July 21, 1926 UNITED STATES PATENTS ,277 3 1 06 9 1,055,482 Miesen Mar. 11, 1913 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,177,287 Stevenson Mar. 28, 1916 5 166,124 Germany Dec. 28, 1905 

